Sunday, November 18, 2012

Felíz Dia de Acción
de Gracias or simply Dia de Agradecimiento this Thursday!Here are two bilingual children’s books
that work well reading out loud con familia on Thanksgiving.Even if your familia does
not include anyone under 10, I find these books fun and lovely to read during
this time—especially if you’re wanting to practice tu Español!

A snowstorm is
approaching preventing relatives from coming to Beto y Gaby’s house.The snowstorm, however, brings other
unexpected guests:elder friends
who are stranded.The celebration
becomes a gathering of an alternate familia.

This coming week
I’m getting together con mi familia and, as always, everyone has a dish to
prepare. All of us are watching the carbohydrate (sugar) content in the foods
we eat at the same time that we are committed to enjoying delicious
dishes.So how do you do that on a
day like Thanksgiving?

There are many
low carbohydrate recipes on-line and there are also a number of low
carbohydrate cookbooks offered.Instead of giving you a listing, I’m going to tell you about a few
dishes I’ll be bringing to the table.I find that food is much more delicious now on a low carbohydrate
diet.I can taste more and I don’t
get that heavy feeling after a meal.I remember those Thanksgiving meals that were heavy on carbohydrates/simple
sugars and how all of us felt sleepy and lazy and we all complained about
gaining weight during the holidays.Not any more!

A note on
carbohydrates:Carbohydrates are
sugars and starches.There are two
types of carbohydrates:simple and
complex.The simple carbohydrates are refined processed foods like white bread,
packaged cereals, soda, corn syrup, etc. Even non-refined foods like carrots
and potatoes have a very high content of sugar.Eating one carrot is like eating a spoonful of pure sugar.
Foods that are on this list have a low or non-existent nutritional value and
cause hunger and weight gain. Complex carbohydrates are foods
containing a lot of nutrients and fiber as well.Examples:spinach, broccoli, all the berries (raspberries, strawberries,
blueberries, etc.), cauliflower, asparagus.

At the end of this section on food and recipes, I've included a
timeline that explains how we have been conditioned to think that
sugar/carbohydrates are not dangerous.Mother Jones Magazine this month includes an in-depth article about how our
consumption of sugar has increased and why. In 2010, the Centers for Disease
Control (CDC) predicted that by 2050, 1 in 3 individuals will have
Diabetes.Just this past week, the
CDC reported that “Diabetes prevalence rates jumped dramatically across the
nation between 1995 and 2010.”“ .
. . [O]verall, the median prevalence of diagnosed diabetes went up from 4.5% in
1995 to 8.2% in 2010.”

“All told, rates
increased 50% or more in 42 states, and 100% in 18 states.The largest increases were in Oklahoma
(up 226%), Kentucky (158%), Georgia (145%), Alabama (140%), and Washington
(135%).CDC representatives said
the new numbers were a mere taste of what’s to come unless public health
agencies figure out how to combat Type 2 Diabetes, which was diagnosed in an
estimated 18.8 million people in 2010.”(from L.A. Times article by Eryn Brown)

Instead of
crying over these statistics—I bring to you alternatives to help you consider a
different, more delicious, nutritious and life-saving Thanksgiving.After all—Thanksgiving translated in
Spanish is “Acción de Gracias.”“Accion”—Action!Bring your
family together in an act of loving and health-filled kindness. Also, this month is Diabetes Awareness Month and if you have a Walgreens Pharmacy in your area, they are offering free A1C testing for the month of November (A1C is the best test to find out if you or your loved ones/friends have pre-diabetes or diabetes. It's a quick and easy test and you don't need to fast. All that is asked of you is a little blood via a pin-prick on your finger). Here's the info: CLICK HERE

Alternative
Dishes to try (and also to add or delete ingredients as you see fit.It’s fun to play with recipes):

Stuffing:A possible alternative to avoid all
that high sugar bread that is in most stuffings is to try Garbanzo
Stuffing.Here is the recipe:(CLICK HERE)Check out the reviews of this recipe as well because in the
reviews, you’ll find how some people added other ingredients (like
zucchini).

Garbanzo Stuffing

Alternative to the high sugar/starchy mashed potatoes--

Mashed Cauliflower:This is so easy and
so delicious.I never have that
heavy feeling after eating mashed cauliflower as I did with mashed potatoes.Why?The difference in carbohydrate count is key here.1 cup of mashed potatoes:41 carbohydrates. 1 cup of mashed
cauliflower:5 carbohydrates (plus
a lot more nutrients).

Alternative side dish:Spaghetti Squash makes an excellent
side dish for Thanksgiving.It is
also a perfect alternative to the very high sugar/starchy spaghetti.And it’s another “easy to prepare”
food.

Spaghetti Squash

The most difficult part of
the process is cutting the squash in half.You’ll need a good sturdy knife and strong hands.Be patient and careful.Once it’s cut in half, scoop out the
seeds, etc. from the middle of the halves.There are various ways to cook the squash (lots of on-line
recipes).Keep the cut side up
and place both in a baking dish.Rub olive oil on the cut sides and also drip a bit more in the interior
sections.Cut up an entire garlic
bulb (the cloves in fine slices) and place the slices where you scooped out the
seeds.Salt and pepper and add a
touch of cumin too.Depending on
where you live (altitude and humidity are a factor—I would just keep checking
them throughout the cooking process), place in a 275-300 degree oven for 1 to 1 1/2
hours or until you can easily place a fork in the squash.Let sit (covered in foil) for a about a
half hour (again depending on where you live this varies).When the squash is ready, scoop it out
(it will be so easy) with a fork and it will look exactly like spaghetti.

1 cup of cooked
spaghetti squash:8 carbohydrates

1 cup of cooked
(white or wheat) spaghetti:35 -
42 carbohydrates

I have mixed the
spaghetti squash with homemade pesto, with zucchini, tofu, sausage—so many possibilities
here!

Spaghetti squash with olive oil, asparagus, and nuts

I hope these
three alternative dishes peak your interest enough to try either this
Thanksgiving or anytime!

1968:The SAI
launches the International Sugar Research Foundation (ISRF) to help it
scrutinize the safety of rival sweeteners cyclamate and saccharin.

1969:The FDA bans
cyclamate based on a study suggesting it causes cancer in rats.The industry “pioneered and
persevered,” the ISRF boasts, “in the program of research that so quickly
catalyzed the events leading to banning the product.”

1970:“If sugar is
so fattening, why are so many kids so thin?” asks an industry ad. (By 2010, 17
percent of kids ages 2-19 are obese.)

1971:“Enjoy an ice
cream cone shortly before lunch,” beckons an ad in Women’s Day.“Sugar can be the willpower you need to
undereat.”The following year, the
Federal Trade Commission orders the industry to stop making such claims.

1982:Hershey’s
Reese’s Pieces appear in E.T., The
Extra-Terrestrial.Sales of
the candy reportedly soar 65 percent in a single month.

1989:Monkeys fed
enough cyclamate to sweeten 150 cans of soda per week for 17 years are deemed
cancer-free.“With cyclamate we
made a mistake,” FDA honcho Robert Scheuplein admits to the Washington Post.

May 2012:New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg proposes a ban on sugary drinks
exceeding 16 ounces.Days later,
the Center for Consumer Freedom, a group backed by the fast-food industry, buys
a full-page in the Sunday New York Times:“New Yorkers need a Mayor, not a Nanny.”In September, the NYC Board of Health votes 8-0 to approve
the ban.